Tag printing machine



June 9, 1959 c. WILLIAMS r 2,889,771

TAG PRINTING MACHINE 7 Filed June 6, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Lg: i

Q 7 E s k N Y IN Q w fi R m N w l 7 m m Q L a g a; z Q

i Q Q INVENTOR.

C. WILLIAMS TAG PRINTING MACHINE June 9, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FiledJune 6, 1955 IN V EN TOR. 6102!, M/LL A0445 United States Patent Gil-ice2,889,771

Fig. 3 is an oblique sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1,with parts broken away.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the printing 2 889 771 headand the ink-applying means in their printing posi- 5 tion with respectto a feed tag.

Patented June 9, 1959 TAG PRINT N MAC NE Fig. 5 is an oblique sectionalview taken on the line 1 55 of Fig. 4 with parts removed.

Carl Wflhams Huntmgton Park Cdhf' Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken onthe line 6-6 of Application June 6, 1955, Serial No. 513,411 Fig. 4 withparts removed.

5Claims (Cl. 101 301) Fig. 7 IS a wirmg diagram showing the circuits forinterconnecting the components of the device of the present invention toa source of electrical energy.

Referring to the drawings, wherein a preferred form v of the inventionis shown, the numeral 10 broadly des- The Present invention reliitesgenerally a P g ignates a housing preferably fabricated from sheet metalmachine and more Specifically to a machine device having side members11, a top and bottom member 12 which is clfcctivc for recording on feedtags a ccdc and 13 respectively, a back member 14 and a front memnumberso as to permit later identification of date the b 15, th f o t member15 being hingedly connected to product Was man fac ed the top member 12so as to permit the same to be swung It is Common P in the feed industryto imprint upwardly into an open position for permitting inspection p afeed tag code number Which l permit at a and adjustment of the comonents of the device as will later date the manufacturer to definitelyestablish the b r fully appreciated hereinafter. The numeral 17 date ofmanufacture of this particular feed. Heretobroadly d ig -ate a ri tingmechanism whereas the fore, this Printing Operation has been eileotedeither y numeral 19 broadly designates an ink-applying mechaa stencil,arubber stamp, or amachine which would print i rn, the printingmechanism 17 being moved in a a given number of these feed tags (hiringa specified printing direction by means of a force-exerting means periodof time. The first two methods are objectionable broadly designated by hnumeral 20 and the inasmuch as much human effort and time is involvedapplying mea 19 being moved into ink-applying relawhich must necessarilybe reflected inthe cost of the feed tionshjp with respect to theprinting mechanism 17 sold. The last method is equally objectionablebecause, b a force-exerting means broadly designated by besides the highcost of machines of this type, many u er l 21,

Of the feed tags printed for one days production More particularly theprinting mechanism 0 not necesarily be used that particular day andsince each prises a i ti head 22 of any suitable or Well-known daysprcducticuis identified y a different code m construction which consistsof a plurality of endless hese unused Coded feed tags necessarily haveto be ribbons 23 which carry suitable type 24 and which are destroyed-The machine deViee embodying the carried on spaced drums 25, the drumsbeing rotatably principles of the present invention is automaticallyconi d b t ee spaced side members 26, The side trolled 80 as to Causeone feed to be Printed in members 26 are interconnected by a top member27 response to actuation of the sewing machine which closes hi h i e tedby mean of a bolt 28 to one end the feed bags in response to y otheraction of a lever arm 29. The opposite side members 11 of force whichcan be harnessed upon each filled feed bag th housing 10 are rein-forcedby a pair of upwardly being moved Oii the Production line- The machineextending standards 30, and a cross-shaft 31 is received can be closelyassociated with the end of the feed line i aligned openings 32, fo ed inea h of the standards 30.

so that the Worker Performing the final Operation can A disc 33, whichhas suitably afiixed in the center thereof easily Teach the Coded feedtag and the same to a suitable bearing 34, is rotatably received byshaft 31 the never more than one feed tag being Printed for and centeredthereon by suitable spacers 35. The lever each bag moving Oil the lihe-1 arm 29 adjacent the other end thereof and a reinforcing It therefore,a p y Object f the present invcubar 36 are fixed to disc 33 by means ofa suitable U-bolt tion to generally improve the construction andOperation 37 so that the lever arm is rockably supported about ofdevices of this yP the axis of shaft 31 for moving the printing head 22A further object of the present invention is to provide up a d down froman at rest position, Fig. 1, to a a device of this type Wi h a plin inghead and inkprinting position, Fig. 4. The lever arm is urged to move ppy means and means for automatically moving so as to position theprinting head in its at rest posithe Printing head into Printingrelationship With respect tion by means of a suitable tension spring 38which is to a fccd tag and the pp y means to a position anchored at oneend to a suitable eye bolt 39 carried out of the path of travel of theprinting head. by the top member 12 and at its opposite end to an Afurther Object of the Present invention is to Provide eye bolt 40secured to lever arm 29, and suitable countera device of this P With ePrinting head and -weights 41 are carried adjacent the end of lever arm29 pp means and electrically responsive means for so as to aid thetension spring in urging the lever arm moving Printing head in aPrinting direction and the to move or rock the printing head into itsraised or ink-applying means i t inkpp y r l p With at rest position.The maximum inclined position of respect to said Printing head- 1 thelever arm is defined by an abutment bar 42 which Further objects andadvantages of the present invenis L-shaped in configuration and one endof which is tion will be apparent to those skilled in the art uponsecured by means of a suitable screw 43 to the top perusal of thefollowing description and claims and member 12 of the housing 10 and theother end of the accompanying drawings in which: which has suitablyclamped thereto a suitable buffer Fig. l is a longitudinal, verticalsectional view of a pad 44, preferably formed of rubber or likematerial, device embodying the principles of the present invenby opposedclamp members 45 urged together in clamption, showing the printing headand the ink-applying ing relationship by means of a cross bolt 46. Itwill means in their at rest or non-printing positions. be appreciated,therefore, that the tension spring 38 Fig. 2 is a vertical sectionalview taken on the line and the counterweights 41 cause or urge the leverarm 2 2 of Fig. l with parts broken away. g I t. to swing the printinghead into its raised or at rest position and that the maximum inclinedposition of the lever arm relative to the horizontal is defined by thelever arm striking or being urged against the buffer pad 44 of theabutment rod 42.

The ink-applying mechanism 19 consists of an ink pad 47 of any suitableor well-known construction which is hingedly connected as at 48 to across bar 49 of a housing reinforcing member 50. The ink pad 47 is alsolink-connected for up and down swinging movement by means of a suitablelink 51 to a lever arm 52 which in turn is swingably connected for upand down swinging movement by means of a pin 53, pin 53 being supportedbetween opposite reinforcing members 54 of the housing 10. When theprinting head 22 is in its raised or at rest position, the lever arm 52upon being rocked to its maximum forwardly inclined position, swings theink pad 47 upwardly a distance sufficient to move the same inink-applying relationship with respect to the downwardly positioned type24 of the typing ribbons 23. When the printing head 22 is carrieddownwardly into printing relationship to a print-receiving card 55 bythe lever arm 29, the ink pad 47 is caused to swing downwardly out ofthe path of travel of the printing head, and upon the printing head 22resuming its raised or at rest position the ink pad 47 is again causedto swing upwardly into ink-applying relationship with respect to saidprinting head 22.

As previously suggested, the force-exerting means 19 are effective forcausing the lever arm 29 to swing downwardly in a printing directionwhereas the force-exerting means 21 are effective for causing the inkpad 47 to swing upwardly in ink-applying relationship with respect tothe printing head 22 after the printing head has again resumed itsraised or at rest position.

The force-applying means 19 consists preferably of a solenoid 55a of anysuitable or well-known construction which has a core 56 and a push rod57 secured to one end of said core. The push rod 57 has aflixed to theend thereof by means of a suitable bolt 58 a cushioning pad 59preferably formed of rubber or similar type material, and the solenoidis so positioned that the force exerted by the push rod 57, upon thesolenoid being energized, against the lever arm 29 is suflicient to rockthe same downwardly in a printing direction and consequently move theprinting head 22 into contact with the card 55. When solenoid 55a isde-energized the force exerted by the tension spring 38 and thecounter-weight 41 is suflicient to rock the lever arm 29 upwardly intoits at rest position against the buffer pad 44.

The force-exerting means 21 is also preferably in the form of a solenoid60 which has a core 61 which is link connected by a link 62 to the lever52. When lever arm 52 is in its downwardly inclined position so as toposition the ink pad 47 in its downwardly extending position out of thepath of travel of the printing head 22, the solenoid 60 upon beingenergized causes the lever arm 52 to swing upwardly and the ink pad 47to swing in its ink-applying position relative to the printing head 22.A normally open microswitch 63 is positioned in the housing and has acontact arm 64 which is positioned in the path of travel of lever 29,and a suitable on-off switch 65 is carried by the top member 12 of thehousing 10.

The solenoid 55a is secured by means of bolts 66 to a bracket 67 ofreinforcing member 50 while solenoid 60 is secured by bolts 68 to areinforcing member 69.

of housing 10. The microswitch 63 is likewise suitably anchored tomember 50 so as to position the same in the path of travel of lever 29as previously suggested.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 7 of the drawings, one terminal 70 ofthe on-01f switch 65 is connected to a suitable source of electricity bymeans of a lead 71 and the other terminal 72 is connected to oneterminal 73 of activator switch 74 by means of a lead 75.

Another terminal 76 of the switch 74 is connected by a lead 77 to oneterminal of solenoid 60 and the other terminal of solenoid 60 isconnected to a terminal 78 of microswitch 63 by a lead 79. Anotherterminal 80 of the microswitch 63 is connected by means of a lead 81 tothe source of electrical energy so that when the on-off switch 65 isclosed and the normally open microswitch 63 is closed by reason of theprinting lever being in its upwardly inclined position, the solenoid 60will be energized so as to urge the lever 52 upwardly a distancesufficient to move the ink pad 47 in inkapplying relationship withrespect to the printing head 22. The switch 74 has a contact arm 82which is normally urged in contact with terminal 76; however, when aswitch button 83 is forced inwardly, either by the feed bag or bymechanism associated with the feed bag sewing machine or in any othermanner, the contact arm 82 is forced to swing into contact with aterminal 84 which in turn is connected by a lead 85 to one terminal ofthe solenoid 55a. The other terminal of solenoid 55a is connected to thesource of electrical energy by lead 81 so that upon the switch 74 beingactivated solenoid 55a will be energized.

In operation, after the on-ofi switch 65 is closed the solenoid 60 isimmediately energized and the ink pad 47 consequently urged inink-applying relationship with respect to the printing head 22. When thecontact arm 82 is moved into contact with terminal 84 of switch 74, thesolenoid 55a is energized and the push rod 57 exerts a force againstlever 29 suflicient to overcome the force of the tension spring 38 andthe counterweights 41, the printing head consequently moving intoprinting relationship with card 55 and swinging the ink pad 47 out ofits path of travel into the position shown in Fig. 4. It will beappreciated that the printing head 22 will be held against the card 55as long as the solenoid 55a is energized. When the contact arm 82 isallowed to resume its normal position against terminal 76 the forceexerted by the tension spring 38 plus the counter weights 41 urges thelever 29 to swing upwardly into 4 its forwardly inclined positionagainst the abutment bar 42. It will be appreciated that the contact arm64 of normally open microswitch 63 breaks the circuit to solenoid 60when the lever 29 is moved from its at rest position. Therefore, whenthe contact arm 82 resumes its normal position against terminal 76solenoid 55a is not energized until the lever 29 is rocked upwardly bythe force exerted by spring 38 and counterweight 41 a distancesulficient to move arm 64 of microswitch 63 a distance sufiicient toclose the circuit. Immediately upon the circuit being closed thesolenoid 60 is energized and the lever 52 moved upwardly a distancesuflicient to swing the ink pad 47 into ink-applying relationship withrespect to the printing head 22. It will be appreciated, therefore, thatthe contact arm 82 of switch 74 breaks the circuit of solenoid 60 andapplies circuit to solenoid 55a at the same time. When contact arm 82 ofswitch 74 resumes its normal position, solenoid 60 is energized onlywhen lever 29 is moved upwardly against contact arm 64 of microswitch 63a distance suflicient to close this circuit.

A suitable open-end tray 86 is provided for carrying a plurality ofcards 55 and it will be appreciated that the tray is so positioned thatthe operator can easily fill the tray with cards or remove therefrom theuppermost coded card. The tray is preferably supported in a forwardlyinclined position by means of a front supporting member 87 and a rearpad 88, the pad 88 being preferably formed of rubber or similar materialso as to absorb the shock of the printing head 22. The tray is alsocentered with respect to the printing head 22 by means of a guide member89 and it will be appreciated that the tray can be so constructed as tobe adjustable for accommodating therein cards of various sizes andshapes.

An ink tube 90 is also provided which leads from the top member 12 tothe ink pad 47 when the pad is in inkapplying relationship with respectto the printing head 22 for permitting the same to be soaked with aquantity of ink.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description, and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the formhereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. A stamping machine comprising a printing head, a lever arm fixed tosaid printing head and swingably connected for up and down swingingmovement about a rearwardly disposed transverse axis for moving saidprinting head from an at-rest position to a printing position, aswingably mounted ink pad urged to swing by said printing head from anink applying position relative to said printing head to a position outof the path of travel of said printing head upon movement of saidprinting head toward its printing position, a lever arm supported forswinging movement about an axis substantially parallel with the firstmentioned axis, a link interconnecting the second lever with said inkpad for effecting swinging movement of said ink pad in its ink applyingdirection in response to swinging movement of said second lever in onedirection, electrically responsive force exerting means for urging thefirst lever to move said printing head in a printing direction whenenergized, electrically responsive force exerting means for urging thesecond lever to swing in said one direction for moving said ink pad inan ink applying direction when energized, a source of electrical energy,an actuating switch having normally open contacts for connecting thefirst force exerting means with said source of electrical energy andnormally closed contacts for connecting the second force exerting meansto said source of electrical energy, and a normally open control switchin the path of travel of the first lever and positioned to be actuatedby contact with said first lever for effecting energization of thesecond force exerting means for initiating movement of said ink pad intoits ink applying position when said printing head assumes its atrestposition.

2. A stamping machine comprising a printing head, a lever arm fixed tosaid printing head and swingably connected for up and down swingingmovement about a rearwardly disposed transverse axis for moving saidprinting head from an at-rest position to a printing position, resilientmeans connected with said lever for urging said printing head to assumeits at-rest position, a swingably mounted ink pad urged to swing by saidprinting head from an ink applying position relative to said printinghead to a position out of the path of travel of said printing head uponsaid printing head moving toward its printing position, a lever armsupported for swinging movement about an axis substantially parallelwith the first mentioned axis, a link interconnecting the second leverwith said ink pad for effecting swinging movement of said ink pad in itsink applying direction in response to swinging movement of said secondlever in one direction, electrically responsive force exerting means forurging the first lever to move said printing head in a printingdirection when energized, electrically responsive force exerting meansfor urging the second lever to swing in said one direction for movingsaid ink pad in an ink applying direction when energized, a source ofelectrical energy, an actuating switch having normally open contacts forconnecting the first force exerting means with said source of electricalenergy and nornally closed contacts for connecting the second forceexerting means to said source of electrical energy, and a normally opencontrol switch in the path of travel of the irst lever and positioned tobe actuated by contact with said first lever for efiecting: energizationof the second force exerting means for initiating movement of said padinto its ink applying position when said printing head assumes itsat-rest position.

3. A stamping machine comprising a printing head, a lever arm connectedto said printing head and swingable about a rearwardly disposedtransverse axis for moving said printing head from an at-rest positionto a printing position, an ink pad swingably carried to move from an inkapplying position to a position out of the path of travel of saidprinting head, a second lever arm swingable about a rearwardly disposedaxis substantially parallel to the first mentioned axis, a linkinterconnecting the second lever with said ink pad for moving said inkpad into its ink applying position relative to said printing head uponmovement of said second lever in one direction, a solenoid for urgingthe first lever to move said printing head in a printing direction whenenergized, a solenoid for urging said second lever in said one directionwhen energized, an actuating switch having normally open contacts forconnecting the first mentioned solenoid to a source of electrical energyand normally closed contacts for connecting the second mentionedsolenoid to said source of electrical energy, and a normally open switchin the circuit of the second mentioned solenoid and positioned in thepath of travel of said first lever and closed by contact with said firstlever when said printing head assumes its at-rest position forenergizing the second mentioned solenoid for initiating movement of saidink pad into its ink applying position relative to said printing head.

4. A stamping machine comprising a printing head, a lever arm connectedto said printing head and swingable about a rearwardly disposedtransverse axis for moving said printing head from an at-rest positionto a printing position, a swingably mounted ink pad urged by saidprinting head to swing from an ink applying position to a position outof the path of travel of said printing head upon movement of saidprinting head toward its printing position, a second lever arm swingableabout a rearwardly disposed axis substantially parallel to the firstmentioned axis, a link interconnecting the second lever with said inkpad for moving said ink pad into its ink applying position relative tosaid printing head upon movement of said second lever in one direction,a solenoid for urging the first lever to move said printing head in aprinting direction when energized, a solenoid for urging said secondlever in said one direction when energized, an actuating switch havingnormally open contacts for connecting the first mentioned solenoid to asource of electrical energy and normally closed contacts for connectingthe second mentioned solenoid to said source of electrical energy, and anormally open switch in the circuit of the second mentioned solenoid andpositioned in the path of travel of said first lever and closed bycontact with said first lever when said printing head assumes itsat-rest position for ener gizing the second mentioned solenoid forinitiating movement of said ink pad into its ink applyng positionrelative to said printing head.

5. A stamping machine comprising a printing head, a lever arm connectedto said printing head and swingable about a rearwardly disposedtransverse axis for moving said printing head from an at-rest positionto a printing position, resilient means connected with said lever armfor urging said printing head to assume its at-rest position, aswingably mounted ink pad urged by said printing head to swing from anink applying position to a position out of the path of travel of saidprinting head upon movement of said printing head toward its printingposi tion, a second lever arm swingable about a rearwardly disposed axissubstantially parallel to the first mentioned axis, a linkinterconnecting the second lever with said ink pad for moving said inkpad into its ink applying position relative to said printing head uponmovement of said second lever in one direction, a solenoid for urgingthe 7 H H 8 r first lever to move said printing head in a printingdirecfor energizing the second mentioned solenoid for initiattion whenenergized, a solenoid for urging said second g movenlent ofsaidnnlc padinto its ink applying pos lever in said one direction when energized, anactuating U011 relative Sald Pfllltlng hEadswitch having normally opencontacts for connecting the first mentioned solenoid to a source ofelectrical energy 5 References C'ted m the file of thls Patent andnormally closed contacts for connecting the second UNITED STATES PATENTSmentioned solenoid to said source of electrical energy,' 1 40 91 g et 113 2 1933 and a normally open switch in the circuit of the second2,019,397 m N v, 5, 1935 mentioned solenoid and positioned in the pathof travel 2,040,524 M a t a1, May 12, 1935 of said first lever andclosed by contact with said first 10 2,113,867 Weyrnouth Apr. 12, 1938lever when said printing head assumes its at-rest position 2,654,312Phipps Oct. 6, 1953

